by Patrick Stevens, Special for USA TODAY Sports

First, freshman center Nerlens Noel went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a loss at Southeastern Conference leader Florida. Then the Wildcats, playing their first full game without Noel, were smoked 88-58 at Tennessee on Saturday.

It was enough to knock Kentucky out of Monday's NCAA tournament bracket projection, and the Wildcats' problems are two-pronged just four weeks from Selection Sunday.

It remains to be seen just how capable John Calipari's team is without Noel, who was averaging 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game. The Wildcats clearly will be different, and the tournament selection committee will closely evaluate how Kentucky fares in the portion of their schedule without Noel.

Teams are generally judged on the totality of their season, with attempts made to limit any sort of impact of recent performance. But a significant injury changes that for the defending national champs.

There's also the matter of Kentucky's limited achievements to date. The Wildcats are 17-8, but are winless in four games against the top 50 of the RPI. Even with Noel, Kentucky still had to work to do.

It will likely prove more difficult without the star freshman, especially if Saturday is any indication.

Bubble movement:

One of the weekend's biggest winners was Maryland. The Terrapins upended Duke 83-81 at home to tack a second top-25 RPI win onto its resume. Maryland (18-7) still has a dreadful non-conference strength of schedule to contend with, and enter a stretch (at Boston College, Clemson, at Georgia Tech, at Wake Forest) where it will be crucial to avoid getting dealt a damaging loss. The Terps are far from a sure-thing and are the third team out of Monday's projection.

Temple is one of the most fascinating teams at the moment. The Owls (17-8) rebounded from a shocking loss to Duquesne with a victory at fellow bubbler Massachusetts and find themselves very much a part of the tournament conversation. But look at the recent results: Temple's last five games were all decided by a point.

Illinois continues its surge up the board. John Groce's group won its fourth straight game Sunday. The Illini (19-8) have beaten both Gonzaga and Indiana, and find themselves very much a part of the Big Ten's second tier of strong (if not elite) teams that also includes Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Memphis is a team that looks better and better by the week. Even if this team still hasn't accomplished much (one top-50 win), the Tigers (22-3) continue to rattle off victories in Conference USA and have risen to a No. 9 seed based on the latest bracket projection. Memphis simply isn't going to have an abundance of impressive victories come Selection Sunday. But it hasn't made any missteps, and it's creating some wiggle room for Josh Pastner's bunch.

On deck:

Monday is a quiet night for teams hovering around the edge of the NCAA tournament, though it's an important evening for a newcomer to the bracket. Villanova (16-10) will try to follow up its victory at Connecticut when struggling Rutgers pays a visit to the Main Line.

There's a crucial game in the one-bid Patriot League, where Bucknell visits Lehigh in a meeting of conference co-leaders. Lehigh won the first meeting, and the regular season champion secures home-court advantage throughout the league tournament.

Words of the day:

"That was my first one in I don't know how long. ... There was no bad language. I'll be sure to pass that onto my mom." - Pitt coach Jamie Dixon on picking up his first technical of the season in Saturday's loss at No.20 Marquette.